Islam Is Not a Spare Part!
In France — the largest Catholic country,
known as the “daughter of Catholicism” — in late 2008, during the Pope of the
Vatican’s visit to America and amid the search for a solution to the crisis of
parasitic liberal capitalism that had driven Western societies into a dark
tunnel with no light at its end, one of the most reputable quarterly magazines,
Challenges, wrote about the Western world’s need — to escape its
suffocating economic crisis — for the Islamic banking system — the
interest-free system — and for the Islamic philosophy of money, where wealth
does not generate wealth without labor.
The magazine stated in a study titled “The
Return of Islamic Banks”:
“As the world faces a financial crisis that
is sweeping away all signs of growth in its path, we must read the Qur’an
instead of papal texts.
If the greedy bankers who seek profits on private money had applied even a
little of Islamic law and its sacred principle that ‘money does not produce
money,’ we would not have reached the point we are at today.”
Following this article by the French
magazine Challenges, the Pope of the Vatican himself — despite his sharp
hostility toward Islam — decided that Vatican banks would implement some
principles of Islamic banking.
The Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore
Romano, published a report stating:
“The ethical guidelines upon which Islamic
finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients than ever before.
Moreover, these principles may allow such institutions to embody the genuine
spirit expected of all financial service providers. The approval of the highest
religious authority in Catholicism (the Pope) for the Vatican’s banks to adopt
some Islamic principles could help reduce the intensity of far-right voices —
especially in the United States — that seek to tarnish Islamic banking by associating
it with what they call ‘terrorism financing.’ This decision could also raise
awareness among Catholic followers about Islamic finance in particular and
about Islam in general.”
West Seeks the
Islamic Solution Without Islam
Before this acknowledgment of the emergence
of the Islamic solution to the crisis of parasitic liberal capitalism, early in
2009 — in London — banners appeared promoting the Islamic (interest-free)
financing system, despite the rising hostility toward Islam in England and
other Western countries. This calls for the awakening of Islamic awareness to
what lies behind such writings, statements, and advertisements that some may
pass by heedlessly.
1. The severity of the crisis, the depth of the collapse,
and the ugliness of the downfall that Western capitalism has reached — which
drove the unemployed to destroy the idol of capitalism, its golden calf Wall
Street — have led many Westerners, despite their growing hostility toward
Islam, to call for adopting the Islamic solution to their economic crisis,
without embracing Islam itself! It is as though they are reenacting the scene
of Pharaoh at the time of Musa (peace be upon him), when drowning overtook him,
and he declared his belief — but too late!
Thus, the modern Pharaonic Qarun-like
West — after its savage capitalism was engulfed — seeks the Islamic,
interest-free banking system to heal, revive, and rescue its economy. Yet, it
wants this system merely as a spare part to fix its collapsing machinery — not
as a complete philosophy of stewardship (istikhlaf) that stands in
direct opposition to capitalist thought.
2. It is also not far-fetched that some Western voices —
though not all — may be calling for the adoption of the Islamic interest-free
system merely to attract what remains of Islamic monetary surpluses, to use
them in rescuing the capitalist system after having already drained the Muslim
world’s wealth throughout the colonial era and the oil booms — leaving us
bankrupt, only to draw us into deeper bankruptcy!
The Islamic
Philosophy of Wealth
3. Here comes the role of Islamic awareness — to realize
and proclaim that the Islamic interest-free system is but one component of the Islamic philosophy of wealth and economics — a philosophy fundamentally opposed to
the capitalist one, rejecting any compromise or half-measures.
Capitalism is founded on prioritizing
capital over labor, glorifying individualism at the expense of community, and
seeking material profit unrestrained by divine ethics — worshipping money,
banks, and profits — the modern golden calf.
In contrast, the Islamic philosophy of wealth and resources is built on the
principle of stewardship (istikhlaf): ownership in its ultimate sense
belongs solely to Allah — the true Owner of all wealth and blessings.
People — all people — are entrusted as vicegerents over these resources and are
granted rights of possession, utilization, investment, and enjoyment within the
framework of the covenant of stewardship — namely, the Sharia of Islam, with
its principles of social solidarity and moral discipline.
Hence, the interest-free banking system is
not merely an economic solution detached from moral values. Rather, it is
inseparably linked to the ethical framework of Islam. It is not a tool for
patching up a corrupt, unethical capitalist structure — but a component of a
comprehensive and distinct Islamic system, founded upon a complete and coherent
philosophy of wealth, resources, and social justice. It is not a spare part for
capitalism, nor a transplant for a foreign body — it is an alternative system in
its entirety.
Steps Toward Islamic Economic Revival
4. The realization and application of the Islamic
philosophy of wealth and resources, and the establishment of the Islamic social
system as a genuine alternative, depend upon meeting several conditions and
taking a series of steps that form part of the broader project of Islamic
revival. Chief among them:
a. The awareness among
Muslim thinkers, activists, and leaders that the Islamic system of wealth and
resources is not capitalism — even if some attempt to beautify capitalism with
moral slogans.
b. The necessity of
transforming the Muslim world into an Islamic economic bloc where this system
is applied — as a model within Islamic civilization first, to then become an
example and inspiration for others.
c. Since noble ends
require noble means, wealthy Muslims must invest their money exclusively in
developing the Muslim world. Scholars must declare it forbidden to invest
Islamic funds outside Muslim lands as long as there remains a need, necessity,
or benefit in investing within Dar Al-Islam.
d. Muslim thinkers and
activists must pressure decision-makers to follow the path of what is halal —
to increase wealth, develop the economy, and spread justice throughout the
Muslim lands.
Breaking the chains of dependence on the West — which bind Muslim policymakers
to the Western center — is the prerequisite for any reform and the key to
transforming Islamic philosophy of wealth and economics from theoretical
thought into practical reality.
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